The Boy
by Finvarra Faerie
Summary: Remembering that day from all those years ago, Dawn once again ventures into the forest. She wants to see if the treehouse still remains after twelve years, she wants to see if 'he' is there...


**Author's Note: **This is a sequel to my other story 'The Treehouse'. If you haven't read that, then you have to go read it because you will have no idea of what is going on in this story. You have been warned! Enjoy!

* * *

**The Boy**

She never saw him again after that day. It was like a dream, a dream that her mind had conjured up. It was like it never even happened. Even though it felt like a dream and nothing else, to her, it felt like a distant and long forgotten memory. It was like something she read in a book full of fantasies. _He_ was like a mysterious character from the pages of a book.

Breathing out a soft sigh, seventeen year old Dawn stared out of the window in her room, watching as the day slowly transformed from day to deep evening. The sky changed color and the clouds started to disperse. Soon evening would be moving into sacred night.

Moving away from the window, the blue haired teenager released another sigh. She was beginning to feel forlorn and longing was tugging at her heart. The girl didn't know why this was occurring, but she had a feeling it had something to do with her forgotten memory of that day when she had met _him_.

"Dawn?"

Hearing the sound of her mother's, Johanna's, voice caressing her ears, Dawn turned around to face her parent. Johanna was standing in the doorway of her room. Immediately, it reminded Dawn of that mesmerizing day. Instantly, nostalgia overcame her and she was overwhelmed with the feelings she had experienced that day.

Will she ever see that day again?

"What is it, mom?" Dawn questioned after fighting through her nostalgia. She fully turned around to face her mother and trekked over to her bed, taking a seat. The female bounced a little as she did and she smiled, remembering the times when she used to jump around on her bed as a child.

"I'm starting on supper soon," Johanna remarked, eyeing her daughter in a very contemplative manner. "I'm going to be making some mashed potatoes. Could you go outside and pick some potatoes for me?"

Dawn would never dream of not complying with her mother's wishes. She would do anything for her mom. The teenager loved her mother with all her heart and always made sure she was happy. "Sure, mom. How many do you need?" She asked her parent, curiosity coloring her tone.

"Um…" Johanna put a hand to her chin, rumination putting itself onto her facial features. "I think I need about ten of them. That's all. No more than ten."

"Okay." Dawn nodded.

Johanna gave her child a smile before turning to leave the room, but Dawn stopped her with her words. "Mom? Do you remember that day when I was five? I…journeyed into the forest without your consent?" Dawn began.

"Yes…" Johanna responded quietly, turning around to face her kid.

Dawn went on while putting her attention on the window like she had been doing before her parent had entered the room. "It got dark and you came looking for me. I met you halfway and you scolded me for going into the forest," She explained quietly, nostalgia coloring her voice. "I told you all about the boy I met and the treehouse…"

"Dawn, I thought I told you that you were imagining things?" Johanna told her firmly, giving her a stern look. "You were five years old. I've told you about that forest. Nobody lives in there. You didn't see a boy and you definitely did not see a treehouse."

Dawn pursed her lips, annoyed by her mother's absurd assumptions. Why would she think she was imagining those things? Why would she even be making that up? Not wanting to argue about it (since they had already argued about it that same day), Dawn let it go and nodded her head, falsely agreeing with what her mother said.

Johanna seemed pleased with Dawn's wordless response and sauntered over, pulling her into a short embrace and pressing a kiss to her forehead. When her actions were completed, the woman pulled away and gave her seventeen year old daughter a grin. "Supper's going to be great tonight. Go get those potatoes outside."

"Yes, mom." Dawn robotically said, not displaying any sort of emotions. She was upset with her parent at the moment, hurt that she wouldn't believe her about the boy and the treehouse. Johanna was satisfied with this and she quickly fled the room, leaving Dawn sitting on the bed.

Sighing deeply through her nose, the teenager rose from her bed and walked over to her room window, grasping the pink curtains on either side of it. She took one last long observation of the nature that greeted her eyes before she pulled the curtains over the window, shutting out the beautiful scene.

Later on, Dawn found herself outside their small abode in the wonderful wilderness, holding a basket and putting potatoes into it. Her mother had grown these potatoes and other various vegetables around their home, which was much easier than going to the store and buying the things that they needed.

Dawn moved her attention over to the enormous forest, wondering if the treehouse still remained there after all these years. Curiosity filled her mind and she could feel her entire being _drawn_ to that place. An image of the boy she had met appeared in her mind, but she could not recall his name.

It had been so long.

Dawn _needed_ to see if the treehouse was still there…if _he_ was still there!

Disobeying her mother's wishes, Dawn dropped the basket of potatoes and started approaching the forest. Thinking her mother was going to burst out of their house any moment, Dawn increased her speed in walking until she was jogging towards the towering trees that made up the forest. Then, after a few minutes, she disappeared into the thick nature of that was the forest.

Dawn slowed down to a stop, panting. She lifted her head and darted her eyes all around, surveying her new surroundings. Everything seemed so very familiar to her. Moving her feet again, Dawn fell into a comfortable trot, remembering what the boy had looked like all those years ago.

"What does he look like now?" Dawn whispered to herself, glancing upwards into the towering trees. Some of the sun's evening light peeked through the large leaves of the massive trees.

Numerous minutes later and Dawn finally reached her destination. She didn't know how she managed to find the place, but she did. Dawn somehow _remembered_. Her feet had brought her there for some unknown reason. Looking up, her eyes met with the sight of the _treehouse_. It was still up in that tree, majestic and beautiful. For some reason, she had always been fascinated with treehouses.

Running over, Dawn released an unrestrained burst of laughter, recalling the events that took place years ago. She climbed up into the treehouse and looked around, finding nothing inside. She expected to see that boy again, but knew that there wasn't such a possibility. Getting comfortable in the abandoned treehouse, Dawn pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them while shutting her eyes.

It all felt like her long forgotten memories were coming back to her. They danced in her mind and showed her images, allowed her to listen to voices from long ago. Just thinking about the boy and the treehouse she was in brought a serene smile to her lips. She and the boy had spent hours in the treehouse, just enjoying each other's company.

Dawn began to feel guilty for not remembering the boy's name. He had been so kind as to let her into the treehouse when he really didn't have to. That also brought a smile to her lips and she could feel herself drifting off into a calm sleep, completely forgetting about her mother and everything else around her. Sleep came and carried her off to pleasant dreams…

"…What are you doing here?"

Dawn groggily sat up, blinking erratically. There was a face in her vision. The face somehow seemed very familiar to her. It was unfathomable and unexplainable to her, but she had a feeling that she knew this face. She _knew_ this person.

Still sleepy, Dawn squinted her eyes, trying to get fully awake. The face was still staring at her. Without thinking at all, the female reached over and used her fingers to clasp a strand of plum colored hair of the person kneeling in front of her. The expression on the familiar person's face morphed into a look of perplexity and uncertainty due to her sudden actions.

The person used his hand to reach up and grab her hand, stopping her from grabbing any more of his hair. He gently pulled her hand away and then released it, now glowering at her with his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

"Wake up, girl…" He said. "What are you doing here?"

Dawn sat up fully and was now really awake, realizing the actions she had displayed to him. Her eyes widened and she immediately felt embarrassed. "Oh…I'm sorry! I just…I mean, I don't know why, but I…I fell asleep in here!"

"Obviously."

"I'll just be going on home now then," Dawn stated uneasily, still embarrassed about touching his hair and falling asleep in the treehouse. It was now night outside and she had a feeling that her mother was out frantically looking for her, thinking something terrible had happened to her. "My mom is probably freaking out by now."

The guy only grunted in response.

Dawn then got a better look at him, still finding him extremely familiar for some reason. "Forgive me for saying this, but…you _really_ look familiar to me somehow. Have we met before? Wait…do you…did you build this treehouse?"

"Yes. I did. Now get out." The male answered icily, not sounding friendly at all.

Dawn didn't budge. "Wait…please tell me your name."

"Paul." The guy answered, now seeming to recognize her or something.

Dawn released a surprised and pleased squeal and threw her arms around the male, knocking him flat onto his back with her on top of him. "I can't believe it! You're actually Paul! After all these years we finally meet again!" She felt so happy for a strange reason. Why was she so happy to see a boy she hardly knew and had met so many years ago?

Paul was staring at Dawn's face, face flushing heavily. He had no idea why this girl was on top of him, but he was starting to remember the girl he had met all those years ago. She looked a lot like this girl who was now just resting on top of him, looking like she wanted to kiss him. Unmoving and completely stiff, the plum haired teenager began to notice the nice scent she gave off. She had the scent of beautiful daisies. He liked it.

Not thinking clearly, Paul's arms went around her waist, holding her firmly against his own body. Dawn seemed to notice this and her cheeks colored deeply. Her eyes got bigger and embarrassment was showing on her facial features.

"Uh…" Dawn didn't know what to say.

"Dawn…?" Paul questioned quietly, frowning in deep rumination at the female.

"You…remembered my name?" Dawn asked, feeling joy pound throughout her veins.

Paul's expression remained the same when he answered and his voice still portrayed that same coldness, "How could I forget the strange girl that wanted to see my treehouse all those years ago?"

A soft smile graced Dawn's lips and she allowed her head to rest on his chest as he held her close to him. For some reason she felt like she knew Paul so well, but knew that they hardly knew anything about each other.

But…that could _change_.

They could get to know each other. They could spend their days becoming closer and closer.

It could _happen_.

Dawn would make sure of it.


End file.
